News desk
In mid-November, the National Academy of Sciences hosted its latest Keck Futures Initiative conference—a periodic meeting of scholars from across the science spectrum (with funding support from the WM Keck Foundation). The purpose of these meetings is to break down barriers, create an impetus for greater collaboration, and stimulate discovery through the pursuit of bold, new ideas.
This is science communication done right. I was privileged to take part in… Read more
Editor’s note: A December 2, 2014 Scholarly Kitchen article describes how the number of papers published by PLOS ONE dropped off earlier this year. Several possible causes are discussed. This particular explanation is explored in more detail—the open data requirement that went into effect at PLOS ONE on March 1st.
Source: Scholarly Kitchen
The mantra of the nascent open-data movement — that scientists should share online all data underlying their findings — sounds… Read more
nSCI’s Open Science Initiative conversation between many of the thought-leaders in academic publishing and open access is wrapping up this week, and recommendations of this working group are being prepared for circulation next week to a wider circle of stakeholders. A summary of the group’s conversation and recommendations is posted online at www.nationalscience.org/projects/osi.
This was a revealing conversation. Differences of perspective clearly exist between proponents of publishing reform, and basic… Read more
The Obama administration is expected to propose restrictions on smog-causing ozone on Wednesday in a move that will address a major cause of respiratory illness for millions of Americans while also setting the stage for new clashes with the Republican-controlled Congress.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s long-awaited proposal will reportedly call for toughening restrictions on the pollutant, which forms when chemicals in factory smoke and automobile exhaust react to sunlight. Ground-level… Read more
Almost no one will dispute that when a baby is born, breast milk is the best nutrition a mother can provide. All mammals nurse their young, and breast milk benefits a newborn infant in ways above and beyond nutrition. In fact, until 1 to 2 years of age, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine and more promote breast-feeding as optimal.
Unfortunately, breast-feeding until… Read more
If you ask officers of the European commission in research and innovation whether any of the funding attached to Horizon 2020 (the biggest EU research and innovation programme ever) will improve research career conditions, they are likely to politely cough, roll their eyes and answer: yes. They’d point, for example, to the European Research Council (ERC) starting grants and the Marie-Sklodowska-Curie individual fellowships which both fall under the £63bn programme.… Read more
If you work in academia or in Big Pharma, you likely have easy access to the world’s scientific literature. Outside of these places, however, obtaining affordable access to the latest scientific journals is much more problematic. This includes scientists at all but the largest biopharma companies, doctors and other health care professionals, and people wanting to research diseases for themselves or loved ones.
Many journal articles cost $30 to $35… Read more
Image by AndyHogan14
There’s been a lot of anxiety in climate change circles after Tuesday’s election ushered in a Republican takeover of the U.S. Senate. The Wednesday morning headlines were dire, including this one from Vox: “The biggest loser in this election is the climate.”
On its face, I agree. The chances of bold climate action within the next two years took a big hit Tuesday. Coupled with the latest scientific… Read more
The National Technical Reports Library (NTRL) is now offering the American public free public access to a searchable online database of approximately three million federal science and technology reports.
The library is a service of the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Technical Information Service.
NTIS, a federal agency that does not receive appropriations from Congress, previously charged a fee to provide full-text electronic copies of federal documents in its collection.
The… Read more
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